1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to audio/video (A/V) devices. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to A/V devices and a method of controlling the operation thereof, which provide a user interface in which operations in or among A/V devices are visualized so that a user easily recognizes the operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent development of digital technologies, a network environment has been provided in which A/V devices each performing independent functions, such as a digital TV (DTV), a video cassette recorder (VCR), a digital versatile disk player (DVDP), a DVD recorder (DVDR), and/or a set-top box (STB), are connected to a network for transmitting and receiving contents thereamong.
Further, a number of combination systems have been developed in which the A/V devices that perform independent functions as described above are incorporated into a single system. In the combination systems, since parts performing common functions are incorporated into a single unit, operational convenience is achieved and the amount of physical space required is reduced as compared to discrete devices.
The conventional A/V device is considered as a black box in that the internal operation thereof is not revealed to users, as shown in FIG. 1. Interacting with a conventional A/V device does not pose a problem if the A/V devicee only handles and/or reproduces content between one source and one destination. The term “content” is used in its broadest sense to include, not by way of limitation, audio signals, video signals, and the like.
Interaction with a conventional A/V device becomes problematic as the number of sources and destinations of content handled by the A/V device, and the number of tasks performed on the respective contents increase, as they have recently. This is because such a conventional scheme displays only processing results according to a user's operation making it difficult for a user to understand the operation of the A/V device.
Furthermore, it is difficult for the user to recognize how a particular content item is being processed in the A/V device, whether current scenes on the display device are provided from a particular content source, and what operation is required for a desired task. Thus, operation becomes inconvenient for a user.